6.8-magnitude #Quake Jolts #Myanmar

Local Editor

Casualties have been reported after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit north-central Myanmar, with tremors felt in neighboring Bangladesh, India and Thailand.

According to the US Geological Survey [USGS], the quake, whose epicenter was about 145 kilometers west of the city of Meiktila, and relatively deep at 84 kilometers, struck Chauk, a town on the Irrawaddy river region several hundred kilometers northwest of Myanmar’s capital of Naypyidaw, on Wednesday.

Based on the latest reports by local officials, the quake has so far left at least three people, including two children, dead.

The USGS noted that many buildings in the region were "highly vulnerable" to earthquake shaking but added that the impact would be "relatively localized."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team